


Elemental Guardians - Pilot

by Chibi_Pix



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Cliffhangers, Elemental AU, Elemental Magic, Fairy Pidge, Fairy Pidge|Katie Holt, Gen, Guardians AU, I don't really know - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mentions of Other Voltron Paladins, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Minor whump, One Shot, fairy!Pidge, galra - Freeform, galra are desert folk, i didn't fully describe it so..., i may take this fic up fully at another time, intro chapter, minor Allura appearance, minor Shiro appearance, or would it be called a lot of violence, pilot chapter, possible whump, size shifting fairy, ulaz is like a big brother/uncle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23165290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chibi_Pix/pseuds/Chibi_Pix
Summary: This is simply a oneshot chapter; there is a high probability of it being continued/rewritten as a full series at a later date.Pidge is one of five elemental guardians, destined to protect nature and life itself. When trouble reaches her forest, though, she finds that the desert faring folk, the Galrans, are up to something and she has to make it out alive. If not, then not only will the forest perish, but life would surely wane.
Relationships: Pidge | Katie Holt & Ulaz
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Elemental Guardians - Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> As a reminder, this is a single chapter intro of sorts.   
> And second, there are two arts at the bottom, one depicting the characters and another being the map of the land. With mentions of some areas you'll see in the fic, the map can help visualize more. And hopefully I was competent enough to remember directions.

The Dalterion Forest to the north and the Griezian Jungle to the south, in the middle within the Olkari tribe’s territory, a young fairy was hiding in a small hallow within a tree. She peeked out from under some fur that an animal shed and used seasons ago to make a nest there. She looked around, ducking back under the musty fluff when a man walked by. He stood out from the usual people, both the Olkari he was training under and the desert people, the Galra, he descended from; being an albino made him stick out from most, not that he minded much.

Pidge watched carefully before he looked right at her hallow. With a squeak, she got right out of there, a green glow showing around her as she did so. She flew off, but she couldn’t get too far before the albino’s hands cupped around her.

“Got you.” He declared, his voice showing how triumphant he was. He opened his hands up, seeing the fairy sit there in his palms. “I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t change size.”

Pidge giggled and flew off of his hands, moving away from the Galran. She used magic to shift, growing into a more common size seen throughout the lands; that being said, she was still small, especially compared to the larger stature of a Galran.

“Well if I stuck by those rules,” Pidge said, keeping her wings fluttering so she could be more eye-level with the albino, “then you would have found me more easily, Ulaz.”

Ulaz chuckled. She had a point, even he had to agree with her on that. “Point taken.”

“Pidge! Ulaz!” The two looked when they heard Ryner’s voice call for them in the familiar and motherly tone; it meant that they should return to the village where they lived.

“Race you there!” Pidge giggled before flipping backwards, her body seamlessly shifting in size again. She flew off with Ulaz running after her, his long legs giving him an easy stride to keep up with the nimble fairy. When Pidge reached the village, the homes built up into the trees, she returned to her other size, quickly tackling into another fairy who looked much like her. “Matt!” she sang out. She smiled brightly, happy to see her brother; she thought the world of him.

“Hey they, Pidge.” Matt greeted with a jovial laugh. He then reached up, plucking some leaves from Pidge’s hair. No matter what, she always seemed to get leaves, flower petals, and twigs stuck in the messy locks; most fairies, even those with curlier hair, didn’t get that problem; Ryner often jested that it had to do with Pidge’s ability as a guardian. “Okay, get off before you bend my wings.”

“Sorry.” Pidge used her wings to levitate, letting Matt get up, her brother using his own wings to rise up.

“Now Katie,” another fairy spoke up, her wings fluttering as she landed near the two, “you should know better than tackling your brother. You should have even been staying in the village rather than flitting off to play.”

“Mom… I told you to call me _Pidge_.” Pidge grumbled. She liked being called _Pidge_ , it was far more simpler and relaxed, unlike being called Katie or, trees and flowers be damned, Katerina.

“Young lady,” Pidge’s mother, Colleen, sighed, “remember, you’re a guardian. You need to be cautious and you especially need to be training.” She then squeaked, quickly turning small in surprise, when the village chief, Ryner, swatted her in the arm. “Oh, it’s just you, Ryner; you gave me a fright.”

“Colleen, give your daughter some space; she may be a guardian, but she’s still a child.” the aging chief reminded. She chuckled a bit and held out her hand, Colleen landing in it with her hands on her hips. “Even guardians must learn to be children and have a right to grow up happy and having fun. Do you think Lance doesn’t go off to swim with the mermaids or Keith doesn’t like to fly around the mountains and volcanoes?”

“I still worry about her...” Colleen admitted.

“I know, my dear, a mother always worries, but if you coddle her too much, she won’t grow, and if you push her too much, she’ll learn to resent.” Ryner bounced her hand gently, prompting Colleen to fly up and move back, returning to her former size. “However, it is getting late and I have a lesson to go over with my apprentice and I’d like him to practice before nightfall.” She eyed Ulaz; though a grown adult, he was still a student. Of course, one was never too old to learn.

“Okay.” Pidge nodded. She let herself drift over to Ulaz, keeping her feet off the ground, and kissed him on the cheek; she saw him like family since he had been training with the Olkari before even Matt was born; in fact, he had gained enough medical knowledge to help oversee her birth when Colleen was expecting the younger of the fairy siblings. “Thanks for playing with me, Ulaz.”

“Of course.” Ulaz nodded.

“And Pidge, perhaps you should do some meditation at the temple.” Ryner reminded.

“Ugh...” Pidge grumbled. “Do I have to?” No one spoke; her mother and Ryner leveled her with gazes that said all she needed to know. Yes. She had to. “Fine...”

“Your father will be home tomorrow… if you behave and meditate until nightfall today, then I won’t have you meditate tomorrow so you can await his arrival.” Colleen offered, hoping that would motivate her daughter. Pidge grinned and turned small again. Flying at greater speeds than usual, she had a new determination. “Honestly, I wish she was that eager without us having to make compromises and deals...”

“She’s still a child.” Ulaz reminded, knowing very well that kids often needed some form of incentive to prompt them to do something, especially if they were reluctant.

-+-+-+-

Finding Pidge fast asleep in her kneeling position was far from uncommon. Pidge had been in the temple meditating, letting herself connect to the earth through the roots that danced through the land. As she meditated, vines had moved to embrace her, keeping her secure and untangled, especially when she fell asleep.

Especially when trouble had found its way to the western shore, downstream of the Jeveeno Gorge.

A fire at the edge had been started. As many knew, fires in a forest often spread quickly, especially ones created from magic.

Pidge woke up, groggy and still desiring sleep. No, it wasn’t sleep. It was relief from a suffocating feeling she had. What was it, though? It was so unfamiliar.

_Fire. Fire! The trees! Your lifeblood! They burn!_ She heard the words in her head. Were they of her element calling out to her? Or perhaps they were instead her own thoughts, responding to what she could feel from her connection with the roots? Either way, she knew there was trouble.

Quick to carefully slip out of the vines that strove so hard to keep her inside, Pidge changed to be much smaller and flew out of the temple. She stopped when she saw just how bad the fire was, thankful to know it was not as bad as it could have been. Many mages who could manipulate the plants created walls of dense vines, keeping the flames as contained as possible. On top of that, several water mages lived around the forests and jungles, too, using their magic to douse the fires.

_This fire, though… it was magic…_ she thought, her mind confused as she returned to her larger size, her wings still keeping her several inches off of the ground. _Any person with fire magic, should they have truly meant harm, would know that others would combat it… and this fire does not feel like an accident… I heard the trees cry._ Pidge really had no idea what was going on, but she was someone who sought after knowledge. She was determined to find out.

However, finding out would have to wait. Right between her wings, the small space of skin where they did not quite meet, Pidge felt a sharp pain. That pain turned into a burning sensation. She turned small and looked around.

“Who’s there! Show yourself!” she demanded, doing her best to not react to the pain that quickly consumed her. She felt her wings slow down as she drifted to the ground, landing in old, decaying leaves that had fallen moons before. She didn’t know what was wrong. She felt sluggish and on fire, as though someone had taken the roots within herself and filled them with lava. Everything burned.

“Are you certain that the poison won’t kill her?” came a somewhat gruff voice. Pidge warily picked her head up, looking to see two men with yellow eyes. Galrans. Only the desert folk or close kin had yellow in their eyes like that, it had been something Ulaz taught her when she was very young and first met the fire guardian, Keith; he as half-Galran on his mother’s side.

It was confusing, though. Why would the desert folk be there and attacking? She was quick to assume that since one with impressive sideburns and messy hair made a comment about a poison. _Poison… was I hit… with a poison dart?_ She asked herself.

“Even a younger fairy with half the average magic than usual would survive; she is a guardian, so the poison will just leave her extremely weak.” another said, walking over to where Pidge was. She tried to stagger back, but he moved swiftly, scooping her up into his hands; the guardian knew that this wasn’t to take her to safety.

“Secure her, then; we need to return to Feyiv.” the other said.

Feyiv. The main oasis where the leader of the desert folk lived. This was not a good sign. If they needed help growing plants, they could have easily just asked to help, but this? This was definitely not good.

“Yes, sir.” the one holding Pidge commented, shifting to put her in a pack at his hip. Before he could, he moved abruptly, dodging an arrow shot in his direction; this also caused him to drop Pidge on the ground and near the arrow where flowers were blooming. Magic.

“Now, Ulaz!” Pidge heard an Olkari warrior call out.

Ulaz, quick as ever, ran past, quickly scooping Pidge up and fleeing. He was accompanied by other warriors of the Olkari tribe, Ryner included.

“Ryner, she’s gravely ill.” Ulaz reported. It wasn’t that he took the time to check on Pidge, he knew they needed to escape, but rather he could see the trees that were not burned were still dropping their leaves that quickly turned a dull brown. He put his hand over the guardian and concentrated on his healing magic as he maneuvered around the trees. “I’m unable to heal this...”

“The poison must be laced with a certain magic...” Ryner explained. She looked back when two of the warriors dropped back to attack any pursuers.

“Then she needs another guardian to heal her, right?” Ulaz inquired. “We’ll need to head east then.”

“No, we must head to Arus and have Paladin Alfor and Paladin Allura heal her; Guardian Shiro is there to assist.”

“But Guardian Lance is much closer and water...”

“They targeted Pidge for a reason; she will be safest in Arus and with them.” Ryner reminded. She skidded to a stop, Ulaz stopping seconds after. “No, Ulaz! You keep going! Go! Go! Get Pidge to safety. We’ll hold them back.”

“Right!” Ulaz nodded and ran off. He had to get to Arus, the kingdom capitol of Altea. Personally he would prefer the shorter distance to Lance, the guardian of water living around Mermaid Bay, just south of Nalquod Peninsula, but he decided to go with Ryner’s plan. As he fled, he slipped Pidge down into a pouch on his person, hoping she would be fine and as comfortable as she could get in her poisoned state. “Don’t worry, Pidge, I’ll get you to safety.” he informed her.

Galra were quick on their feet. When he first came to live in the forests, Ulaz had to learn to move around the trees, but he still remained as agile as ever. Of course, his foes were of the same race as he was; the only difference was that most of them probably never had to traverse the forests, but many had probably trained to move quickly in the mountainous regions that surrounded their desert. When he heard calls from other Galra trailing him, he didn’t dare look back; it wasn’t that he didn’t want to see how close or far they were, he just didn’t see the need as he trusted the vine and roots to try and protect Pidge, stopping their pursuers.

But two of them managed to evade the attacking flora, especially as it weakened and one, the larger, scruffier one, used fire magic to burn what came at them down. This was when Ulaz glanced back, recognizing them with ease. Sendak, a skilled warrior of the Galran people and one of the desert king’s top fighters, and Haxus, most likely a tactician; that being said, even tacticians were trained to fight.

Ulaz didn’t have time to fight and he certainly didn’t have the backup, either. So, he kept on running, even when came close to the treeline of the Dalterion Forest, able to see the gorge with ease. He had to get to the bridge, though; that was further along the gorge. Once he crossed it, he was virtually safe; the Galra wouldn’t dare fight on Altean lands.

Right?

But Oriande Bridge was further along and Sendak was almost as fast as Ulaz was in the forest. And… where was Haxus? He knew the other had been trailing him, but he couldn’t have fallen behind, right? No, he certainly hadn’t. Instead, Haxus had gotten past the albino and managed to ambush him.

“You’ve run far enough, Ulaz.” Sendak declared, clearly recognizing him. How could he not? Albinism was uncommon in many of the races of the land, and especially rare in the Galra; they relied on the melanin in their skin to help protect them from the harsh rays of sunlight in the desert. “Just hand over the guardian and you will be spared.”

“I will never hand her over.” Ulaz snarled, one hand protectively covering the pouch at his hip and another drawing his sword from his back.

“She grows weaker.” Sendak drew his own sword. “You won’t be able to effectively use plant magic to aid you in a fight.”

He was right and Ulaz knew it. Guardians were protected by their elements and in return protected them; severely wounding a guardian took a toll on the elemental magic, especially the earth, water, and nature guardians and magic due to their more structured connections. Well, good thing he knew how to fight with a blade.

“I may have learned the magic the Olkari people taught me, but I’m in no way unable to fight you and protect the guardian.” Ulaz assured. He went at Sendak first; Haxus may have been spry and quick, but Sendak was skilled, trained by the Galran ruler himself, strong, and fierce. He was the greater threat.

Ulaz put himself in the fight. He knew he wouldn’t be able to escape at that point; trying would be risky and put Pidge in even greater damage. Even without magic, he was a skilled warrior himself, having trained in that regard. The problem was that time was of the essence and Pidge was at risk. He had to be quick.

And he was. He moved in as quickly as he could, managing to cast enough of the plant magic to make a vine form and snag Sendak’s ankle, evidently tripping him. That was not the end of his attack, though, for he moved in and swiped the blade upwards, striking the warrior along the right side of his face.

“Gaah!” Sendak called out, pulling his ankle free as he staggered back. He covered his eye where Ulaz struck him. “You little...” He readied his sword and went at him again. Ulaz, though, was as relentless as the warrior and went at him again, this time digging his sword deep into the other’s arm.

“This ends now.” Ulaz snarled. He dragged his sword upward, nearly severing Sendak’s arm, and pulled his blade down to block Haxus’ attack. He pushed Haxus back and ran off. _Hang in there, Pidge, I’ll get you to safety; with one of the threats handled, that should buy us enough time._ He thought, his hand going back down to cover the pouch. He looked around as he ran. The trees were dying; almost all of the leaves had fallen in response to their guardian’s condition. By sunrise, he rationalized, the other lands would be seeing the floral life grow weak. By now, he added, the other guardians were probably feeling that Pidge was in trouble, especially Hunk and Lance.

Ulaz kept running until the sun first started peeking up over the horizon, hinting to the lands that it would shine down upon them soon. With those first rays of light, he could see the bridge that went over the large expanse that was the Javeeno Gorge. Not much further.

But then there was a flash of fire as the bridge was blown up. Ulaz skidded to a stop, his eyes wide. No. It was right there! He was close! But someone… someone…

“That may have been a bit excessive.” Ulaz turned to look at Haxus, seeing him approach. “Explosive clay found around Thayserix Cove is quite hard to measure and gauge, you know. And it’s highly flammable.” Indeed it was; it was one of the reasons why the mountain folk didn’t mine around there. “Now then,” Haxus stated, “hand over the guardian and I will consider sparing you.”

“You shouldn’t be doing this; the people need the guardians, especially the guardian of Nature.” Ulaz reminded. Haxus, though, was not going to listen. He went at Ulaz with his sword, engaging the albino in combat. Ulaz didn’t have time for this; he had to get Pidge to safety, even if it meant going the long way around and crossing at Oriande Falls or deciding to go to Mermaid Bay to find Lance.

Worse yet, as they fought, they were dangerously close to the ravine.

Wait.

Ulaz realized he could use that to his advantage. With a plan, he decided to go on the defense, allowing Haxus to strike at him and wear himself out. Once he felt the time was right, Ulaz dropped his sword and grabbed Haxus by the arm. Using his body for momentum, he swung the other Galran around him and got him shoved over the edge of the ravine and down into the gorge.

“Pidge...” He whispered. He gently brought Pidge out of the pouch and checked on her when he was sure he was safe for the time being. Pidge was still breathing, but she was definitely weak. He put his hand over her, trying to help heal her with magic, but it wasn’t able to help much. “It’s okay, Pidge, I’ll get you to safety.” he assured. “I’ll make sure you get healed.”

He nodded and put Pidge back in the pouch. He looked over the ravine, seeing where the bridge had once been, small parts still jutting out on either side. Arus was so close. Pidge’s saving grace was just on the other side, but he had no path. He could take the long way around or go to Mermaid Bay, but that would take too long and the plants were already suffering. Pidge was suffering.

“Okay.” Nodding, Ulaz went back away from the bridge several feet. “Okay, I can do this. Do this for Pidge… do this for her.” He nodded and ran straight for the edge at a greater speed than he originally thought he could manage. Of course, he had often been raised being told that people can perform great feats when they truly desire, especially to help someone. He kicked off the edge, catapulting himself over the ravine.

If he missed… he would be joining Haxus in the rushing river below; odds of survival were not likely, especially not for Pidge in her current condition. If he succeeded…

Ulaz found himself hanging from the edge, his hands holding onto the stone with a desperate grip. He had to pull himself up; he couldn’t give up. Not there. Not then. Not with Pidge’s life on the line.

“C’mon, up, up… move… c’mon...” he grumbled to himself, pulling up his weight. He managed to get up on the bridge and rolled to his back, making sure the pouch Pidge was in had been safe the entire time. “Made it… we made it...”

As much as he wanted to rest, though, he couldn’t. He still had a mission. He managed to get to his feet and start walking, his muscles aching from all of the running and fighting. He looked around the fields he entered. Grasslands browned and dingy, flowers wilted, crops withering… The poisoning of Pidge was truly affecting nature.

Ulaz stopped when he heard the thundering noise of a large group moving toward him from the direction Arus was in. An ambush waiting for him? He hoped not. He then stopped, seeing the banner for a paladin. Blessed ancients.

“Ulaz!” Princess? Technically, yes, but before that, Allura was a paladin and a warrior. She rode up on a reptile-like steed, jumping down. “Ulaz, it is you. Are...”

“No time. Pidge is weakened by a poison.” Ulaz stated, bringing Pidge back out of the pouch.

“This is bad.” Allura knelt beside Ulaz, gently taking the fairy into her own hands. She whispered softly to her, prompting the fairy to return to her larger size and lay limply in her arms.

“Allura,” Shiro, the guardian of the sky, wind, and air, however one wished to call it, called from his steed, “can you heal her?”

“Not here… not alone.” Allura admitted. “Father will know more on how to heal her and she will heal best in the shrine.” She got up and returned to her steed, getting up on it with Ulaz’s help, Pidge still in her arms. Wasting no time, she prompted the creature to run across the terrain and head back to Arus.

“Ulaz.” Shiro offered his arm and the Galran nodded, taking it and joining him on his steed. He then snapped the reigns, following after the paladin. “We could feel nature cry out when Pidge was harmed, so we sought out to find her and help her.” he informed. “The others?”

“I don’t know; Ryner wanted me to make haste.”

“We’ll find out more soon; Pidge is our priority.”

“Indeed.” Ulaz focused his attention on where he could see Allura ahead of them, riding quickly to make it back to the kingdom in record time. He was still worried for the guardian of nature, but he knew Pidge was in good hands. _Hopefully the others are, too._ He added as a thought, thinking of the other fairies, especially Pidge’s family, and the Olkari tribe.

**Author's Note:**

> First off, I hope you guys enjoyed this.  
> As stated, for the time being, this is just resting as a one shot; I know, for some of you, that's a bummer. I may be coming back to it another time to do it as an actual series. Until then, you have this.   
> Next, hopefully I was competent enough to remember directions on the map; personally I was never good at following maps, even a teacher wondered how I could mess up so badly following a map. 
> 
> Artwork and map are drawn by me. Working with the art was helped by the encouragement and some inspiration from some friends over on discord.


End file.
